Regarding The Year of the Doll House
Written by admin on December 27th, 2007I was thinking yesterday about The Year of the Doll House – my commitment for 2008. There are already mothers out there joining me for this, making their own commitments to play dolls though 2008. I am so excited!
It has been about two weeks since I decided to commit myself to this doll house adventure, and so far it’s been easy. I just wanted to share that. Easy! Yes.
I don’t want it to seem something complicated. Life is complicated. Playing dolls is not. But playing dolls — I believe — can help a girl to handle the complicated things that will come her way in life some day.
I’ve learned a lesson raising four children. It’s a lesson that has thrilled me at times, but sometimes has been painful. Children do what they see their parents do.
The day before Christmas, I woke up feeling very overwhelmed. I am working outside of my home right now after all (just a season, I tell you) and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. I was thinking, how will I get the gifts wrapped, or even finish buying the few things I need, and rest well tonight, and enjoy Christmas Day, knowing that I have to be back to work the day after Christmas?? I had a deer-in-headlights moment and did a totally abstract thing. I hung up my new 2008 calendar. It was probably meant to be. The quote for the month of January 2008 was exactly what I needed to see.
It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957)
I held that thought close. I decided to pick the sweet, simple things out of all the thoughts swirling through my mind and focus on them. Playing dolls with my little sweetie-pie was one of the first things to pop into my mind. The second thing was how much I wanted to see my mother and my sister (and how much they wanted to see me), so wrapped gifts were not as important as I could build them up to be. The important thing was me having a soft and sweet spirit and enjoying the important things. I decided just to relax and enjoy the days ahead. After all, my daughter is watching, and so are my sons.
The Year of the Doll House is all about playing. It’s about doing something simple. In doing the simple things, though, we often paint such a larger picture that it’s hard to see the whole masterpiece at one time. The Year of the Doll House is about doing a sweet, simple thing, and doing it day by day.
There’s a precious thought that a dear friend shared with me recently. It keeps coming back to me in all that I do. It’s helped me to focus on the sweet, simple things.
“…precept upon precept; line upon line…here a little, and there a little:” Isaiah 28:10
Precept upon precept and line upon line — little by little. That’s how big things are built.
Lynn
The Hundred Dresses
The Family Under the Bridge
Caddie Woodlawn. With the Wisconsin big woods theme, goes along great with a FIAR study of The Raft.
A Year Down Yonder
A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning
Pocketful of Pinecones: Nature Study With the Gentle Art of Learning: A Story for Mother Culture. Sweet fictional story about a newly homeschooling mother who incorporates nature study.
Nature Crafts for Kids: 50 Fantastic Things to Make With Mother Nature's Help
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
At Hanka's Table
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
Awakening Beauty the Dr. Hauschka Way
A Redbird Christmas: A Novel
The Usborne Internet-Linked Book of Knowledge
What Your Fifth Grader Needs to Know
for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
27
PM
Thanks for reminding me to keep it simple. I am determined to start the building process today. I was getting really worked up over it, but now I realize it is allll a learning process. There are lots of things to teach her while building it too. I was getting uptight that all my plans to start decorating the day after Christmas were all blown to bits by the mammoth task of building the dollhouse. I think it will just make it more fun. RIGHT?
27
PM
Yes, yes, yes! It will just be FUN. ~:-D I am the same way, though. I felt a bit frazzled when I saw my niece’s new doll house for Christmas. My first thought was that WE needed something bigger and better than our rustic, homemade house, but I thought about the important life lesson of not comparing our lives too closely with others’. There’s a lot of lessons in this for all of us!
Lynn
5
PM
How true Lynn! I need a reminder of this each time I come home from seeing my dh’s family!! DO NOT COMPARE!
We have done a little each day and I read on another post of yours tonight that it is all about a commitment to play. Amen!!
I hope my dd gets a lot of really sound lessons out of this year that she’ll remember for a loonnnggg time.
Thanks so much for blogging your progress. Such great reminders.
Heather W
6
AM
Thanks for sharing in the adventure! ~:-D
Lynn